


Richie Sings Starships and Stan Hates Having Eardrums

by wow_dood



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Eddie Kaspbrak Lives, Established Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Established Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, F/M, I feel like it gets more serious, It takes a TURN, Karaoke, Light Angst, M/M, Minor Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Minor Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Multi, Richie Has No Chill, Stanley Uris Lives, but it's at the end, stan is so done
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-04
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:08:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26276155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wow_dood/pseuds/wow_dood
Summary: Somehow Ben convinced the Losers to sing at a karaoke event for the fifth anniversary of Pennywise's defeat. Amidst loud, drunk, gay friends and repressed gay memories, Stan is so done with all this bullshit.
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Bill Denbrough/Stanley Uris, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Kudos: 24





	Richie Sings Starships and Stan Hates Having Eardrums

The Losers were not quiet people. Ask any employees of any establishment that the Losers decided to wreak havoc on, and they'd agree in a heartbeat. A mix of Richie's drunken flirting with everyone, Eddie getting squeaky when tipsy, and the others having no problems shouting in public, any waitstaff or fellow patrons would understand why the designated driver, poor Stanley Uris, would be rolling his eyes and downing ibuprofen by the end of the night.

The fifth anniversary of their reunion was not much different.

Stan arrived first, surprised to see the restaurant that Ben had chosen was having a Karaoke night.  _ He probably planned this.  _

Bill was next, and Stan was immensely grateful. Bill had gone through a nasty divorce earlier that year that left him as an angry alcoholic for months. It took Stan travelling hours, showing up at Bill's doorstep, and very bluntly telling him to 'get his fucking life together'. He decided to stop drinking and move closer to Stan, which Stan had no complaints about, for once. That decision to stay sober meant Stan didn't have to be the only one not drinking. 

Then came Mike. After Pennywise, Mike had moved to Florida and finally had enough time to relax. The other Losers could see the difference anytime they met with him. He smiled so much more.

After Mike waltzed in Ben and Bev. They got married less than a year after they remembered each other. Stan was not so sure that it would work out, but looking back he should have known that they were perfect for each other.

Finally, Richie and Eddie. After Pennywise, they had gone their separate ways. That was the truth until Eddie separated from his wife a few months later. Having nowhere to go, and not wanting to be chased by the guilt of leaving his wife, he reached out to Richie, who gladly agreed to let Eddie live with him until he got settled enough to get his own house. That never happened. Instead, once Eddie convinced Myra to sign the divorce papers, Richie threw him a two-man celebration that apparently involved too much champagne and a drunken love confession. Stan didn't really see this as the most romantic way to start dating your best friend, but it worked for them, seeing as they were married a little over two years later. 

When everyone was finally there, Ben stood up and addressed the table, "So, as you may or may not have noticed, this place is doing a Karaoke night. I thought it might be fun to participate.”

“Participate?” Stan hissed in Bill’s ear, “Does he actually expect us to sing?”

Bill turned toward him and laughed, the kind of laugh that Stan cherished being able to pull out of him as a kid. It was the kind of laugh that was like a secret between him and Bill. It made his eyes light up and crinkle at the corners. But Stan was over that. He was just a kid then. He had long since understood that that was admiration, not love. At least not romantic love. Probably.

So Bill and Stan sat back and watched as their friends got more and more drunk, therefore getting more and more embarrassing. Ben sang a slow Phil Collins song unironically near the beginning of the night, which caused an already tipsy Richie to loudly heckle him for picking a boring song the whole time. It was about halfway through the night when Richie decided he was drunk enough to join in.

He started with a Nicki Minaj song. It was Starships. No one was surprised. Stan groaned as soon as the intro started, and he assumed he would look over and see Eddie rolling his eyes too, but instead he saw a slightly flushed Eddie yelling the lyrics along. Not that Stan didn’t like Nicki Minaj, quite the opposite actually. He just knew that Richie would butcher it. And he did. 

Bev sang some Lady GaGa, Mike sang a classic rock song that Stan couldn’t recognise, and then Ben turned his attention towards the only two Losers that were still sober. 

“Stan…”

“No. No no no. I’m not gonna sing. There’s  _ people _ here.”

Bev turned too, “Barely. There’s like three other people and they’re all more drunk than any of us.”

“Besides,” Richie added, “You haven’t sung yet.”

Stan was starting to feel backed into a corner, “Well, neither has Bill. Or Eddie for that ma-”

“Shhhhh,” Richie moved to sit on the other side of Stan, “Eddie will sing after you.”

“Wait,” Eddie said, “No one said anything about  _ me  _ having to sing.”

“Well I just did Spageds. Now Stan, get your mopey ass on that stage and sing some Cardi B.”

Stan rolled his eyes. “I’m not gonna do a Cardi song, that’s way more embarrassing than I want to deal with tonight.”

Bill stood and grabbed Stan’s arm, pulling him toward the microphone. “Too bad, because Richie is right. You need to rap Cardi B.”

“This is a terrible idea.”

Mike moved from his space across from Bill to next to him. “No, it’s not,” he said, “as long as you get on with it.”

“Fine.”

This is the part of the story where Stan gives in to peer pressure, but Stan would put a hit out on anyone who ever spoke of that moment, so it’ll just have to be left up to your imagination.

After that hauntingly embarrassing moment, Eddie went up and sang some weird indie song that Stan couldn’t even begin to recognize. Richie was as supportive as an asshole could possibly be. Eddie lived for it. As much as Stan complained that Eddie and Richie were “too much”, they really did make a great pair. Stan was jealous.

By the end of the night, Stan could feel a migraine starting and Richie was starting to get handsy with Eddie. By the time Richie was full-on making out with Eddie, Stan had had enough for the night.

“Alright, I’m gonna go. Are you guys fine with getting an Uber back?” Everyone except the aforementioned couple nodded. Stan cleared his throat, trying to get the occupied men’s attention. Bev giggled, “Don’t worry, we’ll take care of him.”

“Okay,” Stan said hesitatingly, “Well, see you later, Bill.”

Bill stood up quickly, “Wait!”

Stan stopped in his tracks, “Yes?”

“Can I come with you?”

“Uh, sure.”

There were certain moments when, over the five years that he had his memory back for, he had flashbacks to a childhood he had unwillingly forgotten. There were still moments that were fuzzy, although Stan was starting to suspect it was more of  _ his  _ memory failing rather than Derry taking it away from him. There were moments where he suddenly got flashes of a memory from his childhood. The longer it had been from him crossing over into Derry boundaries, the more extreme the memories were. That is to say, the first thing he remembered when he got to Derry was the smell of his kindergarten classroom. Not exactly a life-changing revelation. However, five years later, although they were few and far in between, the memories were life-shattering. 

Stan has one of the latter flashbacks. Looking at the desperation in Bill’s eyes sent him way back to a year after Bev moved away and a few months before Stan did. He had just found out that he was moving across the country and the first person he told was, of course, Bill. Bill responded by going silent for a minute and then telling Stan to get his bike. After a depressingly silent bike ride to the quarry, Bill pulled him into the water, both still fully clothed, and started panicking.

“Y-you can’t just l-l-leave me like this! I-I haven’t even t-told you about-” Bill stopped, tears running down his face, and pulled Stan close. Stan expected to be swept into an embrace, but when he got close to Stan, Bill kissed him, soft and fast, and Stan froze, surprised. Unfortunately, Bill took that the wrong way and pulled away hastily. He scrambled onto his bike and rushed away, leaving Stan waist-deep in quarry water and gay bullshit.

Stan tried to explain to Bill that he wasn’t mad. In fact, he was glad that he kissed him. But Bill would speed away as soon as they were alone together. So he left without saying goodbye to Bill. And then forgot about it.

That is, he forgot about it until over thirty years later, at a dingy establishment, with him nursing a migraine while surrounded by his closest friends that were ranging from almost sober to shit-faced. And he felt like he was going to cry. So he ran outside, not acknowledging Bill gathering his coat, phone, and wallet to follow him. He ran down the street until he got to the hotel he was staying at and speed walked into the elevator, pushing the button for his floor. Bill stayed on his heels the whole time and reached the elevator just before the doors closed. Stan moved all the way to the wall of the elevator. Bill turned to him, panting. 

“Are you okay?”

Stan didn’t feel like avoiding him in a very small metal box was possible. So, he said, “Do you remember a few months before Ieft Derry as a kid? At the Quarry?”

Bill looked at him, confused, and Stan watched as the last few months they had together as kids slowly came back to him. Everything Stan had gone through ten minutes ago was happening to Bill.

“Oh my God…”

Stan sighed, “Yeah. At least you’re not in public right now.”

“I am  _ so sorry _ !”

Stan was taken aback. He had been planning to apologize to  _ him.  _ Why was he being so stupid? He had run a mile to his hotel to try and run away from something that happened years ago. He was still running from his long-lived and shameful feelings for Bill. He would start thinking about it and distract himself any way he could. He had done that as a child and the behavior continued as soon as he remembered him. And once again, Stan was  _ so. Fucking. Done. _

So he did what his emotionally fogged up brain thought was best, he pushed Bill against the wall of the elevator, kissing him hard. He hadn’t ever been so sure that he wanted something in his entire life as he was in that moment. Luckily, Bill seemed to be fine with this. He wrapped his arms around Stan’s waist and pulled him closer. They only pulled away when they felt the elevator open. They pulled apart in time to look even more suspicious to the crotchety-looking old couple waiting for the elevator. Stan matched the woman’s death glare with one of his own while Bill pulled him out into the hallway. Stan fumbled with his key card as Bill pulled him close and started nibbling on his neck. Stan finally got the door open and pulled Bill inside, slamming the door behind him in the process.

* * *

The Losers were not quiet people. So, when they went out for breakfast the next morning, more than half of them hungover from the previous night, the waitstaff had it in for them. Usually, Stan would understand how they felt and feel like he could relate. This time, however, he was the loudest one, laughing and cheering along with the others. And, if Bev screeched when she saw a hickey on Stan’s collarbone, and Eddie screeched louder when he saw Bill blushing bright red, he couldn’t blame them. It didn’t bother him anyways. Nothing could ruin the new start to his life. The life where he doesn’t have to worry about pretending to be someone or something he isn’t. The life where he gets to date Bill Denbrough, his best friend. Nothing could bother him with this life. Well, nothing except Richie learning the words to WAP and singing it at the top of his lungs at a diner at nine in the morning until he got them all kicked out. At least he had someone to roll his eyes with.

**Author's Note:**

> This is stupid but I wanted to write something a little more fun and easy on the brain. It turned out a little more serious than I originally intended. Hope you enjoyed nonetheless! If you want, comment what you think that the Losers should have sung badly. Also, which of the Losers do you think would be the best singer? Comment if you'd like! Thanks for reading doods.


End file.
